To think I’m NOT a teeny tiny foodie

[orangita]

Or maybe I am and I just don’t realise it🥴

I work in an office and we’ve been incredibly busy recently, made worse by the fact we’re extremely unstaffed. It’s been stressful and frustrating and over the last few months we’ve had several occasions where our manager has bought us pizza or ice cream to say thank you. I never accept it but I don’t make a big show about saying no, I don’t harp on about it being unhealthy etc I just say ‘thank you anyway but no thanks!’ when they come round asking for orders. But now people have started rolling their eyes and passing comment about the fact I don’t want anything asking why not and what’s wrong with me and why I’m not eating etc and now people somehow think it’s because I’m one of those annoying people that make a big show about not eating (eg ‘omg I am sooo full!!!!’ After eating half a biscuit lol) but that’s not the case at all and I’ve never ever said anything like that. The reason I don’t want anything is because I’m lactose intolerant and it will literally go straight through me and the last place I want to have cramps and an upset stomach is work! I only once agreed to get an ice cream and picked the only dairy free option and somehow ended up getting a dairy option which I didn’t realise 30 minutes later when I literally had to leave work I was so unwell. So now I just politely say no thanks etc. I have explained that the reason I don’t want anything is because pizza, chocolate, ice cream etc has dairy and I’d rather not but somehow people still roll their eyes at me when I don’t have an ice cream at my desk and they have been passing comments suggesting I’m one of those teeny tiny annoying people and it’s really starting to irritate me because that’s not me at all. I’m a size 6 but only through lucky genetics absolutely nothing to do with my diet which is atrocious tbh- I had half (dairy free) cake for breakfast today lol. I don’t care about calories but I care about being unwell at work

am I being unreasonable to feel slightly annoyed at this?? Everytime they order a treat for the office I genuinely dread it because my colleagueswill be rolling their eyes at me and passing comments under their breath just because i don’t want something

Don’t even know if teeny tiny foodie is the correct name for it lol, I just meant those people that are like omg I had an entire salad I won’t eat for 3 days now!!! Or the people that judge others and say things like ‘do you know how many calories are in that??’ Etc etc, we’ve all known people like that and it’s so annoying and I don’t want people to think that’s me!

Just do you. People with little else to fill their heads will always comment on this sort of stuff. Ignore.

If i was your manager I would be more concerned about getting you something you could have. Have you told them? It's not unusual. They seem to care about their staff, are trying, so just be open. I can't eat that, it will make me unwell?

I mean, can you not say you can't have dairy?

You don't have to of course, but if they realised you had a reason they should shut up.

Yeah I have! It doesn’t seem to make any difference though people just still roll their eyes and pass comments anyway which is annoying! They don’t seem to believe me and I think they think it’s more weight/health related!

Stop being polite about it. Explain firmly that you’re not being a dick, you’re lactose intolerant. I have a weird food peccadillo and couldn’t give a shit what people think about it. Just own it instead of trying please the mob.

If I was your manager I would be upset to realise there was literally nothing you could eat from what we were ordering, and I would be looking to change the team order to ensure there were dairy-free options for you. Its not exactly difficult, is it? You can even ask Domino's to send you dairy-free pizza if necessary.

Talk to your manager- they're not mind-readers.

I feel for you OP. You shouldn’t ever have to justify to others why you don’t (or do) want to eat junk. I hate all the crappy supermarket junk that ends up in my office. It’s just edible rubbish—not food. Fortunately no one gives a toss if I don’t eat it. I say just ignore them. Not worth it and they’ll soon get bored of commenting etc.

Being lactose intolerant is really common so why don't you just tell them? As someone has said already I am sure your manager would order a non-dairy one for you (or another alternative).
If you were allergic (rather than intolerant) would you not tell anyone? Vegetarian? Kosher?
No one will think it's odd - but just refusing food is more likely to get the gossip going.

Genuinely don’t mean this to sound as snappy as it will come across but I have told them, I’ve put it in my OP and also commented it too. I’ve told them but it’s made no difference at all x

Just tell them you're lactose intolerant 😵‍💫
I mean, it's so bloody obvious... 🤦‍♀️

Almost as obvious as the 3 times I’ve said it already!

Thanks! I totally agree, if you don’t want it for whatever reason why do people need to make a big deal about it?! It’s so frustrating!

If you are saying no predominantly because of the dairy issue, I think I would be saying "what are the dairy free options" and trying to participate as best you can. A lot of pizza places do sides/starters that are not cheese based. Dough balls, or chicken strips? Or a pudding - if they do a plain cookie?

Sorry @CobbldyCook that last post was for you, replying isn’t working for some reason! X

Just be clear that you're lactose intolerant and it makes you ill. If people still try to push it on you, just state clearly that you don't want to end up with the shits at work.

This

@Createausername1970 I think I was just put off last time because when they got so much stuff it ended up all getting confused and I ended up getting dairy, so I would have to make a big deal about it and it sounds ridiculous but I hate drawing attention to it so I figured it would be easier just to say ‘no I’m fine thanks anyway’ because I wasn’t too bothered about the food anyway in the first place (if that makes sense)! X

@Araminta34 genuine question but can you read? I’ve said it several times already!

'Im lactose intolerant, even the tiniest error may result in me shitting myself, so I find it best not to risk it at work'...

Even if thats not strictly true, blunt and to the point tends to shut them up!

"A lot of pizza places do sides/starters that are not cheese based. Dough balls, or chicken strips? Or a pudding - if they do a plain cookie?"

There could be dairy in any of those things eg skimmed milk powder (might as well swallow laxatives) or buttermilk in the chicken.

Bloody hell how many times does OP have to say that she HAS told them she is lactose intolerant. It's almost like her colleagues are.on this thread.
And it it is not as simple.as just getting a.cooke or whatever. Those cookies or.doughballs are very likely to contain dairy.

@PickAChew and @WiddlinDiddlin you’re both absolutely right! I think if I was to say it bluntly and crudely they would understand but equally I get so embarrassed but I know that’s a me problem lol, I just get embarrassed and absolutely hate drawing any attention so it so I figured it was easier just to say no thanks because I didn’t really want the food anyway but i think you’re right if I said it much more matter of factor and crudely they would probably get it more!

I don't think there's much more you can do. You don't want it (for whatever reason). Your colleagues won't listen to your reason. Fuck them.

I'd add the gross detail because I think a lot of folk think 'lactose intolerant' is a fad (like they think a gluten intolerance is) and just means you're avoiding dairy for funsies or it might make you mildly crampy a few hours later if you have loads...